Data Trends 2023: PTSD and Psychedelic Treatments

Publish date: October 3, 2023

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Veterans experience a higher lifetime prevalence of PTSD and poorer treatment responses compared with civilians.^15,16 Current research is focused on novel treatments, such as psychedelic psychotherapy. Despite some lingering concerns, veterans have reported that they support psychedelic psychotherapy in medical settings if proven beneficial.¹⁷ Several VA locations are conducting clinical trials for this novel research, such as the Bronx VA and San Diego VA, among others.^18,19 The psychedelic agent that has shown the most promise thus far is 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). In veterans, MDMA has been shown to lower Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) scores by as much as 58.3 points, and is more effective than placebo.^20,21As more psychedelics continue to be explored,^22,23 future use of psychedelic psychotherapy could be a gamechanger for the PTSD treatment landscape, so long as current legal barriers are overcome.

References

15. US Department of Veterans Affairs. How common is PTSD in veterans? Updated February 3, 2023. Accessed April 21, 2023. https://www.ptsd.va.gov/understand/common/common_veterans.asp
16. Murphy D, Smith KV. J Trauma Stress. 2018;31(5):753-763. doi:10.1002/jts.22333
17. Gray JC et al. Mil Med. 2022;usac400. doi:10.1093/milmed/usac400
18. Herrington AJ. VA studying psychedelics as mental health treatment for veterans. Forbes. Published June 24, 2022. Accessed April 21, 2023. https://www.forbes.com/sites/ajherrington/2022/06/24/va-studying-psychedelics-as-mental-health-treatment-for-veterans/?sh=149266f6c0d4
19. Search of: Veterans: Ketamine - list results. ClinicalTrials.gov. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?cond=ketamine&term=veterans&cntry=&state=&city=&dist=. Accessed March 23, 2023.
20. Mithoefer MC et al. Lancet Psychiatry. 2018;5(6):486-497. doi:10.1016/S2215-0366(18)30135-4
21. Mitchell JM et al. Nat Med. 2021;27(6):1025-1033. doi:10.1038/s41591-021-01336-3
22. Abdallah CG et al. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2022;47(8):1574-1581. doi:10.1038/s41386-022-01266-9
23. Artin H et al. EClinicalMedicine. 2022;48:101439. doi:10.1016/j.eclinm.2022.101439

Data Trends 2023: PTSD and Psychedelic Treatments

References

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